Asheville City Manager to host development forum

Everybody, it seems, would like to build in Asheville. For developers, the city is here to help with its City Manager’s Development Forum.

No, developers aren’t granted special access or favors at the forum, but they can glean information to help them plan and prepare for their projects, not to mention question city officials about Asheville’s development process.

The city’s Office of Economic Development hosts the City Manager’s Development Forum twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. The next forum is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5, and will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the city’s Public Works Building, located at 161 S. Charlotte Street.

The city’s economic-development office focuses on collaborating with city departments involved in the development process and on working with outside agencies such as the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, AdvantageWest, the Land-of-Sky Regional Council and Buncombe County to address community strategies for balanced growth and job creation, among other charges. Services provided by the office include the Minority Business Program, real-estate management and economic-development planning. The office also serves as liaison to the Asheville Film Commission and the Downtown Commission.

Attendees of the Dec. 5 forum—which is free and open to the public—will be given the latest scoop on the area’s current economic indicators and the financial and economic challenges facing the city, in addition to information on city zoning activity, Unified Development Ordinance requirements and other vital information. An update on the ongoing development of the city’s “Development Services One-Stop Shop,” designed to streamline the development process, will also be included.

To view the forum agenda and a PowerPoint presentation, go to www.ashevillenc.gov/ed.

About Hal L. Millard

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